If I Speak My Mind
by chartreuseputty
Summary: Shikamaru x OC one-shot


This is a requested love one-shot from a friend. Just to make clear, in all of my one shots the information sent to me was about what kind of story, the personality looks etc of an OC character that the requester created themself, and with whom from Naruto this character will interact. Enjoy!

If speak My Mind

I woke with a start and yawned, then sat up in bed and looked out the window.

"My my, isn't it a bright morning."

I looked to my bedside table and grabbed my alarm clock. Then gasped.

"LATE!" I screeched and leapt off the bed.

I knew better than to cause too much commotion inside my small apartment, because I was on the top floor and it a small bit of movement could make the whole floor shake. Also, the old couple below me were angered easily. Normally I wouldn't care so much about being a little bit late, but today I was going on a very VERY important mission.

I was clothed and ready to go when I looked down and found I wasn't wearing any pants. I sighed and pulled them on, the early vigor of my awakening all but gone. The day had started badly and seemed as though it held ill will for me and my very important mission.

…………………………………………..

"I'm here!" I shouted as I skidded around the corner. "And I didn't wake up late!"

My partner for this mission simply rolled his eyes and sighed. "Troublesome…"

I lied before, when I said the mission was very important. It's actually ridiculously inconsequential, but the person with whom I would be carrying out this mission was the one who made it important. That super-smart brown haired shinobi captured my heart the moment I saw him lying in the grass and staring up at the clouds. And it only got worse as we grew older, when he became a chuunin and so did I, when we became friends and he nodded at me in that lazy and cool way. When he shot me one of those rare smiles that made my stomach grind in upon itself, making me feel sick later in the day.

"Let's get going. We have to deliver the message as soon as possible."

I nodded and scampered up alongside him and we walked through the gates of Konoha and down the trodden dirt path. Our mission was to bring important documents to our neighboring Village of the Mist. The Fifth didn't expect any trouble to hit us along the way, but she sent two shinobi just in case. It was to my infinite happiness when she called upon me to be the second ninja.

As we walked I couldn't help but glance at Shikamaru who was walking silently beside me. It had been far too long since we both were sent on a mission together, and I don't recall ever being on one with just the two of us. It made me so giddy I was afraid that it would show.

Soon the sun began to set and we searched for somewhere to strike camp. We exited the dirt road and found a little clearing in the woods. Shikamru unpacked the blankets we were carrying on our backs while I started a fire and began to heat two cups of ramen noodles.

The forest was silent save for the cry of midnight creatures and the slurping our noodles.

"Ouch!" I yelped and fell over backwards.

I had been sitting with my feet too close to the fire and burnt my toe. I held onto it tightly and wiggled it around.

"Jeeze, you're so troublesome, you know" Shikamaru said as he wrapped a bandage around my foot.

"Ah…haha t-thank you!" I said rather loudly, and scratched the back of my head.

Shikamaru sighed and fell backwards onto the ground and stared up at the sky. I was never able to tell if Shikamaru really liked me, or if he simply tolerated me. I know the way he rolled his eyes and called me troublesome was something he did to everyone, but it still discouraged me. He was one whose intellect showed through everything he did, whether in everyday conversations, or even in the way he stared up at the sky. His mind was always churning. I, on the other hand, was never able to express my thoughts as well as I could think them. Though all my friends (and Shikamaru) knew that I was smart, I sometimes came off as a little slow and an air-head. I fear that people may begin to think of me that way.

The next morning we woke early and set off down the road. The morning was cool but grew almost unbearably hot. My clothes were sticking uncomfortably to my body and my pack felt heavier than it had the night before. We had to stop a few times to drink water to keep from dehydrating.

"Man, what a drag," Shikamaru complained, wiping the sweat from his brow.

I couldn't help but smile at his sour expression.

"What?" he asked when he saw I was looking at him.

I smiled. "It's on days like these when I realize how great it is to be alive."

I continued on walking and hadn't realized that Shikamaru stopped. I turned around to find him looking at me in an odd way, as if he was confused.

"Shikamaru-kun?"

When I called his name he seemed to shake himself out of his daze and continued walking.

"What was that about?" I asked when he caught up.

He shook his head. "Nothing, you're just an interesting person, that's all."

………………………………………………………………..

Night fell again and we rolled out our blankets though the night was far too hot to use them. We could reach the Mist tomorrow afternoon and complete our mission. This time we couldn't find a clearing and had to make do on a slightly shrubby ground. Since the night was so warm the tree-frogs were singing their loudest and the din was peaceful.

My eyelids were growing heavy as I stared into the orange and red light from the fire, and my usual nervousness had been all but washed away.

"If I had only one day left to live, I believe I would spend it lying in the forest. As we advance upon the world with our villages and towns and electrical lights, we are simultaneously alienating ourselves from nature. We forget sometimes that from nature we came, and to nature we must return."

Shikamaru was silent and I assumed that he had fallen asleep. It figures, though, that he would be sleeping when I finally voiced my mind in a way that sounded intelligent.

"But even if that's so," I continued. "The real reason I'd spend it like this is because I'd be here with you. It eases the pain in my heart, if only a little bit."

I sighed and managed to pull myself out of the fire's trance. I turned, and instead of finding my companion asleep, I saw that he was wide awake, looking at me intensely. The shadows of fire's flames flickered across his skin and reflected off his dark brown eyes. I couldn't say a thing.

I was too shocked and flustered to notice that he was leaning forward, ever so softly and slightly, until his lips collided with mine. I squeaked in surprise and Shikamaru wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me from pulling away. He kissed me slowly at first, then when deeming that I wasn't going to protest the kiss turned more fierce. He wafted urgency.

"You fill my heart with pain too," he said when he pulled away. "You troublesome woman."

I started to giggle and Shikamaru cracked one of his rare smiles. When I was done he leaned in to kiss me again and we fell over onto the grass covered ground, and stayed up all night long amidst the music of the forest.


End file.
